It is almost Halloween and still it is hot, so therefore I sweat. We did have a reprieve the other week, but it didn't last. I long for the day that I can turn off the air conditioner. Enough about the weather.
Another noted difference between the south and the Great White North is how children are taught to address adults. Where I come from in Illinois, children are taught to call neighbors, friends of parents, and parents of friends "Mr. & Mrs. Last Name". Down here in Texas, or at least around Houston children are taught to call adults "Miss & Mr. First Name". While at a play date with my Mom's group recently we were discussing this, as a bunch of us are Northerners. Most of us, including me, like being called "Miss Bluebonnet". I know I married my husband over 10 years ago and I did for awhile consider not becoming "Mrs. Yankee", but I felt it was important for my kids and I to have the same last name. (I know this is just a thing of mine and I really respect women who keep their maiden names, I sometimes wish I would have kept mine, "Mrs. Yankee" be damned!)
I still bristle though when I am called by my mother-in-laws name. I hear "Mrs. Yankee" and I just think it sounds weird, even a decade after it began. I would rather be called "Miss Bluebonnet" by friend's kids and my kids' friends. Maybe it is the connotation that "Miss" means I am still young and fun and "Mrs." connotes someone who is old and responsible. I don't know, but I am much more comfortable with "Miss Bluebonnet". Maybe I am trying to hold on to being young and fun, because I am, but I think this is one Texas thing we will keep if we ever move. What do you think? Do you like being called by your first name or last? I am curious.
Enjoy the weather!
Bluebonnet Yankee
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Well, there are three months until Christmas and it still feels like the middle of summer to me. Fall has always been my favorite time of year. I have already put up all my fall/pumpkin decorations around the house in hopes that if will feel like fall to me. I don't think I will ever get used to the Texas heat. Last fall I think I was too busy to notice or be annoyed by it, but this year I am so done. I feel as if I have been sweating constantly since April and I probably have. I realize that I am and will always be a Midwestern girl.
I have been able to turn off the air conditioning at night and that is a relief, but I still have it on during the day and still am hot just walking my son to school and it is only 2 blocks away! Will I ever wear a jacket again? I do find it funny that in the morning it is in the 60's and most people are wearing jackets and long pants. I am sure the teachers at my son's school must think I'm a bad parent since he is still wearing shorts even in the morning. I am just waiting for a phone call one of these days about the my son's state of dress. I will let you know if that happens.
Right now I am just dreaming of flannel pajamas and hot cocoa. Maybe if I turn down the air conditioning enough I can try that tonight.
See Y'all later!
Bluebonnet Yankee
I have been able to turn off the air conditioning at night and that is a relief, but I still have it on during the day and still am hot just walking my son to school and it is only 2 blocks away! Will I ever wear a jacket again? I do find it funny that in the morning it is in the 60's and most people are wearing jackets and long pants. I am sure the teachers at my son's school must think I'm a bad parent since he is still wearing shorts even in the morning. I am just waiting for a phone call one of these days about the my son's state of dress. I will let you know if that happens.
Right now I am just dreaming of flannel pajamas and hot cocoa. Maybe if I turn down the air conditioning enough I can try that tonight.
See Y'all later!
Bluebonnet Yankee
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
One Year Anniversary
One year ago today my husband and I, our 2 kids and one dog arrived in Texas to start our new adventure (or so we told our 4-year-old). I thought now would be a good time to try and chronicle this time in our lives even though I am a year late. I am sure I am going to miss a lot of things that happened in this past year in this blog, but as anyone who has ever moved to a new state can probably tell you, it takes awhile to get the house in order, kids settled and feel like the new house is a home.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and my husband and I settled there after college to be near family. My husband hated the winters and I had always wanted to move somewhere new and exciting after college, but life has a way of happening and I wound up married with a kid 2 towns away from where I lived my entire life except for college. How boring is that?
For years my husband and I talked about moving, but we never pursued it for one reason or another. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis we both had at the same time or maybe I was just excessively hormonal after having our second kid, but my husband wanted to change jobs and when he asked if I would be willing to move away from Chicago, I said yes. (I blame the hormones and the horribly snowy winter.)
An opportunity came up for him to interview in Houston, Texas so with our 4-year-old spending the weekend with an aunt and a 7 week old in tow, my husband and I flew to Texas for his job interview and to look around the surrounding area. It was April and it was already hot in Texas,. (Little did I know that 85 degrees is "spring" weather here.) He liked the job, the people seemed nice and I was tired of our house in Illinois, so we decided to take the plunge and accept the job offer.
One month later I returned to work from my maternity leave while my husband readied our house to put on the market. Two weeks later he drove to Texas alone, leaving me with the kids, dog, and a house I had to keep "show ready" for any potential buyers (more on that in another post). Needless to say, much of summer 2011 is a blur, between sleepless nights with a baby, constantly cleaning the house, work, and taking online college classes I am not sure how we all survived to be able to drive to Texas last September, but we did.
So here we are one year later. Am I glad we moved? Most days yes, some days not so sure. Are we true Texans yet? I don't know if we ever will be, though I did use the word fixin' correctly in a sentence the other day. I still miss my friends and family in the Midwest, but I am happy we are teaching our kids to be adventurous and try new things (now if only my 5-year-old would eat something other than in nugget form). We have exposed them to a different area of the country with lots of different customs and occasionally a different language (or so the Southern drawl seems to me).
In future posts I will reflect on our move and things we learned about our family and about others and of course there will be calamities to post as well. So join us!
See Y'all later!
Bluebonnet Yankee
P.S. Bluebonnets are the Texas state flower.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and my husband and I settled there after college to be near family. My husband hated the winters and I had always wanted to move somewhere new and exciting after college, but life has a way of happening and I wound up married with a kid 2 towns away from where I lived my entire life except for college. How boring is that?
For years my husband and I talked about moving, but we never pursued it for one reason or another. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis we both had at the same time or maybe I was just excessively hormonal after having our second kid, but my husband wanted to change jobs and when he asked if I would be willing to move away from Chicago, I said yes. (I blame the hormones and the horribly snowy winter.)
An opportunity came up for him to interview in Houston, Texas so with our 4-year-old spending the weekend with an aunt and a 7 week old in tow, my husband and I flew to Texas for his job interview and to look around the surrounding area. It was April and it was already hot in Texas,. (Little did I know that 85 degrees is "spring" weather here.) He liked the job, the people seemed nice and I was tired of our house in Illinois, so we decided to take the plunge and accept the job offer.
One month later I returned to work from my maternity leave while my husband readied our house to put on the market. Two weeks later he drove to Texas alone, leaving me with the kids, dog, and a house I had to keep "show ready" for any potential buyers (more on that in another post). Needless to say, much of summer 2011 is a blur, between sleepless nights with a baby, constantly cleaning the house, work, and taking online college classes I am not sure how we all survived to be able to drive to Texas last September, but we did.
So here we are one year later. Am I glad we moved? Most days yes, some days not so sure. Are we true Texans yet? I don't know if we ever will be, though I did use the word fixin' correctly in a sentence the other day. I still miss my friends and family in the Midwest, but I am happy we are teaching our kids to be adventurous and try new things (now if only my 5-year-old would eat something other than in nugget form). We have exposed them to a different area of the country with lots of different customs and occasionally a different language (or so the Southern drawl seems to me).
In future posts I will reflect on our move and things we learned about our family and about others and of course there will be calamities to post as well. So join us!
See Y'all later!
Bluebonnet Yankee
P.S. Bluebonnets are the Texas state flower.
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